An Alternative Development Agenda for India

224 Pages·2022·1.625 MB·English

by  Sanjay Kaul

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
‘Sanjay Kaul has seen the challenges of development in all its com-
plexity at the ground level. He has come up with a thoughtful
and innovative agenda for meeting them which he articulates and
makes immediate through the lives of a typical impoverished fami-
ly. His wisdom is really worth imbibing.’
Arvind Subramanian, Senior Fellow, Brown University, and
former Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India
‘This book is unique because an economist who has worked in both
the public and private sectors has addressed the Gandhian question
of how to “keep the poor at the centre”. The book, written in a
reader-friendly style, shows us how the poor and most vulnerable
face the brunt of failures due to too many hurriedly designed Gov-
ernment schemes, poor service quality of everything from toilets
to schools, and a rigid bureaucratic mindset that tends to exclude
the reality of the over-worked and under paid poor families. The
real strength of the book however is the recommendations in each
chapter which show us that there is a practical and common sense
way to improve what already exists and to ensure that necessary
services reach those who need them. And, importantly, the author
answers the nay-sayers by demonstrating how a people-centred ap-
proach is financially feasible.’
Renana Jhabvala, Padma Shri,
leading social worker and President SEWA Bharat
‘Sanjay Kaul’s book is scholarly yet eminently readable, brutally
honest but always optimistic, an indictment, and a clarion call for
change. The book is a tour de force that deserves to be read careful-
ly by elected leaders, policy makers, and concerned citizens.’
Ashok Alexander, Founder-Director,
Antara Foundation, and former India Country
Director, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

AN ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT
AGENDA FOR INDIA
This book provides a revamped, transformative, and fiscally sustainable develop-
mental agenda for India to radically improve the well-being and livelihoods of its
citizens. Grounded in a ‘people first’ approach, this alternative agenda focuses on
seven vital development and inter-connected areas, including health, education,
food and nutrition, child development, gender, livelihood and jobs, and urbani-
zation. The book highlights the systemic issues plaguing these sectors and offers
pragmatic and implementable solutions to address them. The author takes cogni-
zance of the COVID-19 pandemic and draws attention to the limitations of the
current public policies and suggests cost-effective interventions and strategies that
focus on the poor. The book discusses crucial issues of universalizing healthcare,
battling malnutrition and food insecurity, ensuring quality schooling, unshack-
ling gendered mindsets, enhancing livelihoods, and improving the urban quality
of life to spell out a pragmatic and workable development agenda for India.
Accessible and reader-friendly, the book is an essential read for scholars and
researchers of development studies, economics, public policy, governance,
development policy, public administration, political studies, and South Asia
studies. It will also be of interest to policymakers and professionals in the devel-
opment sector.
Sanjay Kaul is a development policy analyst, a former IAS officer (1979–2007),
and corporate leader (2008–21). He has over four decades of rich professional
experience in both the government and the private sectors. During his long
tenure as a civil servant, Kaul worked in leadership positions across sectors –
development, health, nutrition, education, child development, food and agricul-
ture, and industry, including in the Prime Minister’s office. He also had a
successful long tenure as head of a leading private agri-business company.
His current interests include human development concerns. He was recently
appointed Chairman of the Government of India Task Force on Early Childhood
Care and Education (ECCE). He is a Director at SEWA GRIH RIN Ltd. (SGRL),
an affordable housing finance company, a trustee on the Karnataka Health
Promotion Trust and on the World Food Programme Trust of India and a mem-
ber of the Managing Committee of several schools managed by the Delhi Public
School Society. He is also closely associated with Mobile Creches, where he has
served as its chairperson, and supports other NGOs such as Doosra Dashak
and Rainbow Homes.

AN ALTERNATIVE
DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
FOR INDIA
Sanjay Kaul
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2023 Sanjay Kaul
The right of Sanjay Kaul to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-1-032-22480-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-38666-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-34625-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003346258
Typeset in Sabon
by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF
ANITA KAUL (1954–2016)

CONTENTS
Preface x
1 The ‘People First’ Imperative 1
2 Universalizing Healthcare 14
3 Battling Malnutrition and Food Insecurity 38
4 Caring for the Young Child 57
5 Ensuring Quality Schooling 80
6 Improving Livelihoods, Creating Jobs 109
7 Unshackling Gendered Mindsets 136
8 Promoting Planned Urbanization 159
9 The Way Forward: Principles, Actions, and Sustainability 185
Select Bibliography 205
Index 207
ix